Machine



(No Model.)

G. C. SHERMAN' 2Sheets Sheet 1.

ADDRESSING MACHINE. No. 447,930.- Patented Mar. 10, 1891.v

@ym @new Y 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. G. C. SHERMAN. ADDRESSING MACHINE.

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UNITED STATES' GEORGE C. SHERMAN, OF ALFRED,' NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO MARTHA L.

SHERMAN, `OF SAME PLACE.

ADDRESSING-VIACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 447,980, dated March 10,1891.

Application filed June I6, 1890. Serial No. 355,594. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE C. Snam/[Alta citizen of the United States, residing at Alfred, in the county of Allegany and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Addressin g-`\Iachine, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of machines which are known as mailing-ma- 1o chines and which are used for the purpose of addressing newspapers and ot-her matter to be mailed.

My invention has for its object to construct a machine of this class which shall possess superior` advantages in point of simplicity,

durability, and general eciency.

With these ends in view the invention consists in the improved construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, which will 2o be hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figurel 1 is a perspective View of a mailing-machine embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through the bed of the same. Fig. S is a detail side View. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view. Fig. 5 is a rear end elevation. Fig. Gis a detail side view, partly in section, of the hammer and the 3o mechanism for operating the same, showing the hammer depressed. Fig. 7 is a perspective detail view of t-he pawl or feeding mechanism and the mechanism for actuating and for regulating the extent of the movement of the said pawl. Fig. 8 is a detail top plan view of that portion of the machine having the alarm mechanism.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts in all the figures.

My invention relates to that class of mailing-machines in which the'names and addresses are set up in a galley adapted to be fed longitudinally through the bed of the machine by the operation of the latter.

I l designates the. bed, which consists of a longitudinal trough of suitable dimensions, which is mounted at its ends upon upright supports 2 2, which are connected at their lower ends by means of transverse brace-rods 3 and 4, the former of which is at the front of the machine. The bed or trough 1 at one endis provided wi th laterally-extendin beads or flanges 5 5 to support the adjustable cross head @,which is gibbed upon the said anges. The cross-head 6 is provided with laterally-v 55 extending arms or brackets 7, between which is pivot-ally mounted a shaft 8, the function of which' will be hereinafter more fully de-A scribed.

The cross-head 6 is arranged at the right- 6o hand end of the bed or trough. At the opposite end of said bed bearings are provided for a rock-shaft 9, carrying the hammer 10, which consists of a bifurcated arm 11, having a head 12, the front side of which is provided with a recess 13, in ywhich is secured a plate 14, the lower edge of which may be provided with a pad 15, of rubber or other suitable material. The head 12 is provided with adj fisting-screws 16, bearing against the upper 7o edge of the plate 14, and the latter is provided with a vertical slot 17 to receive the screw 1S, by means of which it is attached to the head of the hammer. The plate or block 14 may be made of Wood or any other suit- 75 able material, and it may, as will be Well understood, be easily replaced when worn out or disabled.

rPhe rock-shaft 9 extends through its bearing at the rear side of the machine, and upon 8o it is mounted a coiled spring 19, one end of which is attached to the said shaft, while the other end is bent to form a crank 20, which may be adj usted under'any one of a series of pins 2l, which extend rearwardly from the 85 trough or bed of the machine.

The opposite or front end of the shaft 9 carries a disk 22,- which is provided with a peripheral notch 23 and with a forwardly-extending pin or stud 24. 9o

25 designates a lever, which is pivoted to the front side of a right-hand support of the bed or trough of the machine. Said lever is provided at it-s free end with a pivoted arm 26, which extends through a guide 27, secured to the front side of the bed. Pivotally attached to one end of said guide is the dog or pawl 2S, which normally engages in the notch 23 of the disk 22, and serves to hold the hammer in a raised position. Pivotally attached roo to the dog or pawl 28 is an auxiliary pawl29, which engages in a notch 30 in the pivoted arm 26, and which is actuated by suitably-arranged vspring 3l to engage the said notch. It will be seen that when the lever 25 is depressed the arm 26, attached to said lever, will be carried in a downward direction, and the notch 30 in said arm will engage the pawl29, thus forcing the dog or pawl 28 against the tension of the spring 3l and disengaging the vsaid pawl 28 from the notch 23 in the disk 22. The spring 19 will then operate to partially rotate the rock-shaft 9, carrying the hammer l0, causing the latter to descend against the face of the type, which is placed in the trough or bed of the machine, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

Upon the rock-shaft 9, between the arms of the bifurcated body of the hammer, is coiled a spring 32, one end of which bears against the body of the hammer and the other end of which rests upon one side of the bed of the machine. The function of this spring is, atter the hammer has .struck its blow under the impulse of the spring 19, to partly raise the said hammer 'and lift it out of contact with the faces of the type, thus enabling the galley to be moved forward the required distance by the feeding mechanism.

The rear side ot' the pivoted arm 26 is provided with a shoulder 33, which is adapted, when the said arm moves in a downward direction,'to engage the pin or stud 24, extending from the face at the disk 22, thus partially rotating said disk and the rocleshaft 9, to which it is attached, until the dog or pawl 28 again engages the notch 23 in the disk 22, thus restoring the hammer carried by the rockshaft to its normal position. y

On the front side ot' the bed of the machine is pivoted a lever 34, the upper end of which has a pivoted dog or pawl 35, which serves to feed the galley forward during the operation of the machine. The lower end of said lever is bent,.as shown, and adapted to engage the pin or stud 36, which extends forwardlyfrom the lever 25. Asspring 37 is arranged to hold the vsaid lever in contact with the said stud. It will be seen that when the lever 25 is depressed it serves to actuate the lever 34 against the tension rof the spring37 To regulate thel'ength or extent ot' the movement of the pawl 35, I attach to the lower end of the lever 34 a pivoted arm 38, the upper end of which is provided with a head 39, having a slot 40, thro-ugh which extends a set-screw or binding-'screw 4l, which enters the lever 34. By adjusting the pivoted arm 38 the lever 34 may be moved against the tension of the spring 37, thus reducing the distance which the lever 34 is caused to travel when actuated by the stud 36 of the lever 25, and consequently reducing the distance traveled by the pawl 35, andl likewise reducing the extent of the feed.

The lever 25 is operated by means ot' a tre'adle 42, which is pivoted upon the front cross-'bar 3 of the frame. The said treadle'is connected with the lever 25 by means of the pitman or connecting rod 43. A spring 44 connects the lever 25 with a stud 45, extending from the bed of the machine for the purpose of holding the said lever normally in a raised or elevated position.

46 and 47 designate a pair of plates provided with u pwardly-extendin g Ilan ges 48 and 49. Each of the plates 46 and 47 is provided on its under side with a hook-shaped casting 50, adapted to be hooked over the adjustable cross-head 6 at the right-hand end ot themachine. Each of the castings 50 is provided with a forwardly and downwardly extending curved arm 5l, serving as a guide. The flanged plates 46 and 47 are adjusted or hooked upon the cross-head near the front and rear ends of the latter or at any suitable distance apart, `and they lserve to support a sliding .rest 52, which may be of any desired Width, according to the dimensions ot' the papers which are to be addressed. The front ends of the flanges 48 and 49 are provided on their inner sides with beveled cleats 53, and the curved arms,which extend forwardly and downwardly from the castings-50, are extended slightly above the plates 46 and-47, so as to form shoulders 54. To the rear side of the flange 48 of plate 47 is pivoted an arm 55, carrying a gage-plate 56, which, when extended n a forward direction, as show-n .in Fig. 1 of the drawings, forms a gage, against which the edges of the papers that are to be addressed may be rested. Then the machine is not in use, `the said gage-plate may be swung back to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. l.

The rock-shaft 8, which is journaled in the arms 7 of the cross-head 6, is provided with an arm 57, which has a pivoted rod 58, that extends through a perforation 59 in the treadle 42, and is provided at its lower endV with a head 60. Suitably attached to the rock-shaft 8 is also the frisket-frame 6l, which is held normally in an approximately hori- Zontal position by t-he action of the coiled spring 62, one end of which bears against the arm 57 and the other end of which rests against the adjacent arm 7 of the cross-head.

G2 designates the galley, in which the names and addresses are set up in the usual The galley is of the construction ordinarily employed in this class of machines, it being composed ot wooden sides and a sheet-metal bottom. The addresses are set up'in said galley in the usual manner in lines,

which are spaced so. as to enable the feed.

pawl 35 to engage between the said lines. In this class of machines it has been customary to employ an alarm-bell to indicate when the end of a certain post-office list has been reached, andthis alarm-bell'has usually been operated by what has been termed a bellreglet, which has been simply a projection extending from one of the spaces.

In the drawings 4hereto annexed, 63 designates the alarm-bell, 64 the trigger of the same, and 65 the bell-reglet. Difficulty has IIO heretofore been experienced in this, that the bell-reglet would occasionally fail to engage the bell trigger, principally for the reason that it has been necessary to make the bed of the machine sufiiciently wide to accommodate the galley even when the latter is warped, as it has been liable to do. To overcome this difficulty l place in the bed of the machine a spring 6G, serving to press against the side of the galley and hold the latter in contactwith the opposite'side of the bed ot' the machine, where the alarm-bell is secured. By the use the of the said springl avoid allpossibility of the galley passing the alarm mechanism without sounding the bell.

The sides of the bed of the machine are provided adjacent to the rock-shaft 9, carrying the hammer, with flanges 67, upon which are mounted a pair of slide-plates 68, which may be readily adjusted on either side of the point struck by the hammer when the latter descends, so as to prevent other parts of the paper than that which is to receive the inipression from coming in contact with the type.

The operation of my invention and its advantages will be readily understood from the foregoing description, taken in connection withthe drawings hereto annexed.

The operator, standing in front of the machine, places the paper upon the upper side of the frisket. The curved arms 5l and the gage-plate 56 form the gages by means of which the paper is placed in the proper po sition. The cross-head 6 and the anged plates 46 and 47, which, in conjunction with the slide 52, form the receiving-box, have all been previously adjusted to t the paper, and slides 52 of different widths may be provided for different-sized papers. The galley is placed in the machine at the right-hand end of the latter, the type having been previously inked by means of a hand-roller or in any convenient manner. The operator now depresses the treadle 42, thus operating the lever 25,`the arm 26 of which releases the hammer, causing the latter to descend, the spring 32 causing the said hammer tov rebound from the face of the type after having struck its blow. By the continued downward movement of the arm 26 the hammer is now restored to its normal position, and by the continued downward movement of the lever 2 5 the feed-lever 34 is operated to actuate the pawl 35 and to feed the galley forward in the b ed of the machine. The extent of the movement of the galley may be regulated by means of the pivoted arm 3S, attached to the lower end of the feed-lever, as herein described, and the feed movement may thus be adapted to feed the galley the required distance whether addresses of one, two, or more lines are used. The frisket remains stationary while the operation of printing the address is performed, because the connecting-rod 5S is not fixedly connected with the treadle. When the latter almost completes its downward movement, it comes in contact with the head GO of said connecting-rod 5S, which latter is thus depressed, causing the rock-shaft 8, with the arm 57, to which it is connected, to be quickly oscillatedagainst the tension ofthe spring 62, thus causing the frisket to lift the paper which has just been addressed up along lthe curved guides 5l and deposit. it in thereceiving-box, the beveled cleats 53 of which and shoulders 54 serve to retain the paper in position. As each paper is being successively delivered into the receiving-box the slide 52 moves in a rearward direction in the latter until the box is full, when the paper may be removed and the slide 52 be moved to the front end of the boX. The lever 25 is restored to its normal position when pressure upon the treadle 42 is released by means of the spring 44. The spring 19, by means of which the hammer is operated, may be adjusted at any desired tension by placing the crank end 2O of said spring under any desired one of the pins or studs 2l.

My improved addressing-machine, as will be seen from the foregoing, is very simple in structed at a moderate expense. Being composed of comparatively few and simple parts, it is not liable to get out of order, and the gage and receiving mechanism may be readily adjusted to tit papers of various sizes. The mechanism for feeding the galley in a fol-, ward direction is extremely simple, and may be readily adjusted, as herein described, to move the galley any desired distance, according to the number of lines in each address. The alarm mechanism for indicating when the end of a certain post-office list has been reached is not a part of my invention; but the spring by means of which the galley is held in contact with the side of the machine having the said alarm mechanism I consider an important part of my invention, inasmuch as by the use of the said spring failure to operate on the part of the alarm mechanism is avoided. y

Having thus described my invention, I

. claim- 1. In au addressing-machine, the combination, with the rock-shaft carrying the 'hammer, of a. spring to force the said hammer' in a downward direction against the type, a spring to cause said hammer to rebound after deliveringits blow, mechanism for holding the' said rock-shaft with the hammer in a raised position, and releasing mechanism, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the rock-shaft carrying the hammer, the operating-springghaving an arm or extension adapted to be placed under any one of a series of studs extend-v ing from the frame of the machine, the rebounding spring, and the hammer holding and releasing mechanism, substantially as set forth. y

3. The hammer having a head provided withl a recess, in'combination with a plate mounted adjustably in said recess and hav# Vconstruction andvmay therefore be con.

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IIO

ITS

ing a pad at its lower edge, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination2 with the rock-shaft carrying the hammer, of the disk mounted upon the said rock-shaft and having a peripheral notch and a forwardly-projecting stud, the pawl engaging the said notch, the opera-tingspring, and mechanism for releasing the pawl, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of the rock-shaft carrying the hammer, the voperating-spring, the disk mounted upon the rock-shaft and havinga peripheral notch, the pawl to engage the said notch, an auxiliary pawl pivoted to the main pawl, a holding-spring, and a verticallysliding arm having anotch to engage t-he auxiliary pawl, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination of the rock-shaft carryin g the ham-mer, the operating-spring, the disk mounted upon the rock-shaft and having a notch and a forwardly-extending stud, the pawl engaging the said notch, the auxiliary pawl pivoted to the main paWl, the holdin-gspring, and a vertically-movable arm having a notch to engage the auxiliary pawl and a shoulder to engage the forwardly-extending stud of the disk, substantially as set for-th.

'7. The combination of the rock-shaft carrying the hammer, the operating-spring, the rebounding spring, the disk mounted upon the rock-shaf-t and having Aa notch, a pawl to engage the said notch, mechanism for releasing the said pawl, and mechanism for feeding the galley, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination, with the rock-shaft carrying the hammer, of the operating-spring, mechanism for holding the hammer normally in a raised position, mechanism for releasing t-he hammer, mechanism for feeding the galley, and mechanism for delivering the paper into a receiving-box, all constructed and arranged and timed to operate substantially as set forth.

9. In an addressing-machine, the combination of the pivoted feed-lever, a paWl pivoted to the upper end of the same, an arm pivoted adj ustably at the lower end of the feed-lever and adapted to be engaged by a stud extending from t-he operating-lever, and means for retaining the said pivoted arm at any desired adjustment, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination, with the feed-lever, of an arm pivoted to the lower end ot' the same, adapted to be engaged by a stud extending from the operating-lever and having a head provided With a slot concentric with its pivotal point, and a binding-screw, substantially as set forth.

11. ,The combination of the feed-lever having a pawl at its upper end, the arm pivoted to the lower end of the feed-lever and having a'slotted head, the binding-screw, the operating-lever having a stud to bear against the feed-lever, and a spring to hold the latter in contact with said stud, substantially as set forth.

12. In an addressing-machine, the combina` tion,with the bed or trough having laterallyextending flanges, of the cross-head mounted adj ustably upon said flanges and carrying the receiving-box, substantially as set forth.

13. The combination,with the bed or trough, of the cross-head mounted adjustably upon the same and the feed-box composed of sides mounted-adj ustabl y upon the said cross-head, and a longitudinally-sliding inclined rest, substantially as and for thel purpose set forth.

14. The combination of the bed or trough, the longitudinally-adjustable -cross-head, the flanged plates provided with hooked castings, by means of which they are mounted adjustably upon the said cross-head, the sliding rest, and the inclined or beveled cleats at the front ends of the llanges of the plates that support the rest, substantially as set forth.

15. The combination, with the cross-head, ot' the flanged plates and the hooked castings by means of which said plates are mounted adjustably upon the cross-head, said castings being provided with forwardly and downwardly extending curved arms or guides that extend above the front ends of the flanged plates to form shoulders, substantially as set forth.

16. The combination, with the cross-head, of the flanged plates having the beveled cleats and the hooked castings having curved arms or guides that are extended upwardly to form shoulders at the front ends of the plates, and the inclined rest supported slidingly upon said plates, substantially as set forth.

17. The combination,with the cross-head, of the flanged plates supporting an inclined sliding rest, the curved arms or guides at the front ends of said flanged plates, and a gageplate attached to an arm mounted pivotally upon the rear side of the rear flanged plate, substantially as set forth.

' 18. The combination, with the cross-head carrying the receiving-box, of a rock-shaft yjournaled in arms extending from the said cross-head, the frisket attached to said rockshaft, and operating mechanism, substantially as set forth.

19. The combination of the cross-head, the receiving-box having the beveled cleats and the curved guide-arms, the latter being extended upwardly to form shoulders at the front end of said box, the hinged or pivoted arm carrying the gage-plate, the rock-shaft journaled in arms extended from the crosshead, the frisket attached to said rock-shaft, an arm extending from the latter, a rod connecting said arin with a treadle, and a spring to restore the rock-shaft to its normal position when pressure upon the treadle is released, substantially as set forth.

20. The combination of the cross-head carrying the receiving -box, the rock shaft mounted in arms extending from said crosshead, the frisket attached to said rock-shaft, an arm extending from the latter, a rod connected pivotally with said-arm'and extended through a perforation in the treadle, and a head or enlargement at the lower end of said IOO IIO

rod adapted to be engaged by the treadle when the latter has partially completed its downward movement, substantially as set forth.

2l. The combination of the rook-shaft earrying the hammer, the operating spring mechanism for holding the said rock-shaftwith the hammer in a raised position, meehanism for releasing the holding mechanism and for restoring the hammer to its normal position, the feed-lever, the operating-lever having a stud engaging the feed-lever, a rod or pitman connecting the operating-lever with a treadle, a spring to restore the said operating-lever to its normal position, the sliding cross-head Carrying the receiving-box, the 

